6 Armoured Div had more than their fair share of accidents in the 50's possibly due to the aggressive exercises we were put through. It was a newly reformed div formed to bolster NATO during the height of the Cold War, and like the Boy Scouts we had to be prepared, so endless exercises. I can recall 3 tank accidents, one where some TA lads were crushed under a Centurion as they slept, one where a Centurion crew were all electrocuted when they brought down some HT wires, the other was a tank radio op who was trapped when the tank toppled into a river. Our own 20 Bde Sigs Sqn lost one of our guys when on the night prior to leaving on exercise he dozed off while 'listening in' and the portable petrol heater he was using went out and fumes filled the wireless compartment. His morse receiver woke him and he automatically tapped a reply and the spark from the morse key ignited the petrol vapour .. KABOOM ..

Len (Ciphers)

Like the avatar ciphers

I had the chance to settle in Canada in 1981, chose to go back to Germany. I've thought about that decision once or twice over the years, hey ho. Two of my mates married Canadian girls, one is happily married and (as far as I know) is still living in Medicine Hat, the other was posted to Germany with his Canadian wife who on arrival decided she didn't like Germany and went back home, on her own.

I'm sure exercise accidents were brushed under the carpet. On one exercise (on Soltau I think) we had a cook who was severely burnt when a cooker blew up in his face, another lad broke his back falling from the canopy of a knocker as he pulled on a cam net that suddenly gave way. The more I think about accidents the more I remember. I was obviously lucky.

I've posted elsewhere about the accident where a tank ran over a champ and the Umpires inside it and you are right Andrew if you think about it you do remember more of them. Like the RP or it may have been MP on Night point duty at a X roads in an old town with narrow cobbled streets and high walls. This guy was run down by a Pig travelling without lights. There was speculation as to why he hadn't heard it or got out of the way. After an investigation it was decided he had heard it but because of the echo from the high walls but couldn't tell from where it was approaching, he guessed wrong and stepped to the side right under the wheels. Another one, a fully loaded pig radio CV setting out from Minden on exercise in the early morning, festooned with the usual gear plus several extra jerry cans of fuel on the roof. The driver dozed off and drove into the hedge. As he hit it he floored the loud pedal and it being in 4WD it went up the hedge and flipped neatly upside down into a deep ditch. The filler caps on the pig are inside and, upside down, they leak, The radio batteries broke loose and the resulting sparks set the escaping fuel on fire. The Cans on the roof had split so it was sitting in a pool of petrol that soon ignited too. That was some spectacular fire. By some miracle the crew of 3 all escaped alive although somewhat singed. One of them, an attached Royal signals Cpl, Jock Weir, I think was his name, lost a large portion of his hair and his combats were ablaze when he was dragged out.

16/5 Lancers had some deaths 1960-62. 1 Ferret crew parked on the wrong side of the others and the next one in ran over both.
One of our Cents was parked up on the main park at Soltau in June 60 and it was Hissing it down, resulting in major floods.
Some guys, I think RAOC went under the tank to sleep. The tank sank in the night as the ground turned to mush ! My tent ended up about 1.5 feet deep in water, that was on the flat area as you entered the training area, in other places the floods were serious.
We also had a Gun Fitter Sgt who slipped on a turret and slashed his leg open from thigh to ankle on a bazooka plate which was off and leaning against the side of the Cent, he was lucky but lost a lot of blood.

I have many memories of Soltau Training Area - but the Brattie van comment above is spot on ! He knew the place like the back of his hand and the funny thing was no-one seemed to mind him turning up, the exercise stopping and everyone grabbing a brattie and chips !

Did Ex Liquid Chase there with the Black Watch around 1983-84 (may even have been '82). It was an exercise to trial new kit such as the CAM (Chemical Agent Monitor ?), new Noddy suits etc.

Lots of civvies around who we weren't supposed to ask too many questions of.....

The chased us around STA for bloody days hitting us with "Chemicals" and the whole idea being the new CAM's were meant to mean we only had respirators on for a short time.

We were still in noddy suits the whole time and it was baking bloody hot, dusty as hell and absolutely knackering !